I grew up with my Dad telling us stories of how he used to sneak outside to lie on the roof of the family home in Brighton to watch the dogfight battles overhead during World War II – then at school I was captivated by a story we studied about a brave agent in France who needed to acquire the undercover skill of not looking the wrong way when she crossed the road! I emerged with an appreciation of courage and a love of reading in a variety of genres. I hope you enjoy the books on the list as much as I have!
I loved this book because it blends a more popular style with some serious research.
It hits the spot exactly with the portrayal of Payne Best and, to some extent, his rehabilitation – great new information brought to light about Heidel Nowakowski – first ever photo NB – and Vassily Kokorin, wow!
Also, my take is that what the authors have revealed here (at last) is the true story of how the Americans arrived in time to liberate the hostages at Pragser Wildsee in early May 1945; namely, because two courageous people went through an awful lot in order to persuade them to come!
In April 1945, as Germany faced defeat, Hitler planned to round up the Third Reich's most valuable prisoners and send them to his "Alpine Fortress," where he and the SS would keep the hostages as they made a last stand against the Allies. The prisoners included European presidents, prime ministers, generals, British secret agents, and German anti-Nazi clerics, celebrities, and officers who had aided the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler--and the prisoners' families. Orders were given to the SS: if the German military situation deteriorated, the prisoners were to be executed--all 139 of them.
I was so moved by this fascinating and engaging story of Pippa Latour’s wartime SOE operations.
The number of female undercover operatives who were parachuted into occupied France (and survived) was modest. Pippa somehow had the wit and presence of mind to know how to deceive the Germans. She was not spared terrible suffering.
I also made contact with Pippa when she was aged 100 at a time when much of the interviewing for this book took place, and I am so pleased that a gripping sense of her bravery and determination shines through.
'Extraordinary... enthralling. We may think we have read all we need to about the Second World War's secret war, but despite an army of histories and fine biographies, Latour's account is the only first-person memoir we have by a female agent within it. It's also almost certainly the last. A darkly moving, marvellously detailed book.' -Telegraph, 5 STARS
'Vivid, honest, inspiring and sometimes shocking, Pippa Latour's memoir shows how right the SOE were to assess her as having '"tons of guts"' -CLARE MULLEY, author of Agent Zo
'A rare glimpse into the life of the last surviving…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I loved this book because it represents an extremely enjoyable and thorough account of the work of Secret Intelligence.
One noteworthy aspect of this book is the troubling awareness it brings that what the work involves is, in the main, unknown and goes largely unrecognised.
Another very salient truth that emerges (from this volume) is that the work is thoroughly international in nature. For me, the author also demonstrates in adept fashion that the question of how the peacetime accountability of the work of MI5 is to be assured is a multi-dimensional and deeply political one.
'Sensationally good ... A riveting story, the real-life spooks and spies far more compelling than anything you will see on the screen ... history doesn't come more fascinating than this' Evening Standard
For over 100 years, the agents of MI5 have defended Britain against enemy subversion. Their work has remained shrouded in secrecy - until now.
This first-ever authorized account reveals the British Security Service as never before: its inner workings, its clandestine operations, its failures and its triumphs.
'Definitive and fascinating ... whether reporting on Hitler in the 1930s, the Double-Cross System of the second world war, Zionist terrorism,…
I thoroughly enjoyed this stylish, unusual book and was instantly drawn in to the author’s pilgrimage story.
The portrayal of the different islands is rich and intriguing – I found myself wanting to go back to those I know and visit those I haven’t yet experienced, as well as thinking more seriously about a pilgrimage!
The writer is a first-rate historian who writes in a very readable, accessible, and lighthearted style. But the easygoing narrative flow also fuses with razor-sharp insight.
The book delivers a compelling account of society’s historical exclusion and maltreatment of women.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A dazzlingly brilliant book' Hannah Dawson
'Fascinating, often exhilarating ... Albinia is an intrepid, imaginative guide' TLS
The Britannias tells the story of Britain's islands and how they are woven into its collective cultural psyche.
From Neolithic Orkney to modern-day Thanet, Alice Albinia explores the furthest reaches of Britain's island topography, once known (wrote Pliny) by the collective term, Britanniae. Sailing over borders, between languages and genres, trespassing through the past to understand the present, this book knocks the centre out to foreground neglected epics and subversive voices.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I was gripped by this fast-paced and detailed account telling the remarkable story of the RAF’s wooden aircraft and read it over three days.
The book’s insights as to the perils of aircraft manufacturing politics left me with the uncomfortable sense that the whole project almost never happened! In another instance of helpful historical context, the book highlights the (confusing) 3-way split of Nazi rule in occupied Denmark, explaining the story of Danish resistance (and prior collaboration) in the process.
I found it illuminating that the culminating Mosquito raid on the Copenhagen Gestapo HQ, whilst tragically costing many Danish civilian lives, played a significant part in salvaging Danish pride and helping secure a better post-war future for Denmark.
'Captivating' Daily Telegraph 'Stunning' James Holland 'Superb' Daily Express 'Wonderful' John Nichol 'Remarkable' RAF News _________________________________
Built of lightweight wood, powered by two growling Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, impossibly aerodynamic, headspinningly fast and armed to the teeth, the de Havilland Mosquito was the war-winning wonder that should never have existed: the aircraft the RAF didn't think it wanted then couldn't do without.
Flying on operations barely eighteen months after a single prototype was ordered off the drawing board, it was the answer to its pilots' prayers: a stunningly versatile warplane capable of leaving the Luftwaffe in its wake to attack when…
In late March 1945, the Second World War is still raging. Hitler’s leadership is in tatters. All across Europe, refugees are fleeing. German rocket attacks on London cause untold damage. The death marches, comprising countless concentration camp victims, proliferate.
Into this apocalyptic setting, a small police van containing 16 VIP prisoners sets out under Gestapo guard from Buchenwald. The passenger list includes Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian and courageous resister of Nazism since 1933 – and a British agent, Hugh Falconer, SOE, Agent number 007, who is so deeply hidden undercover that his true identity will only become known long after the war. This book tells for the first time the story of how 007’s ingenious sabotage almost saved Bonhoeffer’s life that April. Almost…
